Early Galaxy S4 KitKat build shows off white status bar icons, lockscreen camera shortcut

An early Android 4.4.2 build for the international Snapdragon-powered Samsung Galaxy S4 I9505 offers a glimpse at what is to come, and it’s more of the same.

Samsung has taken TouchWIZ and added a smattering of KitKat’s best features, including Google-mandated white status bar icons and a camera shortcut on the lockscreen. Though SamMobile, the firmware’s source, notes “a little bump in performance,” the biggest changes lie subtly within.

For example, the 5-inch device’s keyboard has been improved substantially when used in landscape mode, and there is a more liberal use of transparency throughout the OS. Considering Samsung plans on releasing the finished version to carriers in late February or early March — which means Canadians may see the update closer to May, due to carrier certification — the firmware is pretty close to finished. SamMobile notes a few bouts of instability but nothing showstopping.

Obviously, the big news here is that this leaked firmware bears no resemblance to the Magazine UX-like leak from earlier this week. Either Samsung is keeping that one for a new device, perhaps the Galaxy S5, or the leak itself was an internal test, unlikely to see the light of day. We’ll know soon enough.

[source]SamMobile[/source]